Emery Miller has come a long way from being bribed by her father at age 4 to score.
The senior center forward for the Durango girls soccer team has led the Demons on and off the field this season. Miller scores with beautifully placed shots into the corners of the net. She shows her soccer IQ when she drops back into the midfield to receive passes before firing great balls into space to her teammates on the wings.
But Miller’s scoring and soccer prowess began with her dad Doug coaching her and giving her something to work for.
“I started off shy on the field and I was just kicking the ball around,” Miller said. “I was a sucker for some candy around age four. So he bribed me with a piece of candy from Fuzziwigs for every goal. He says, since then, I've just been scoring goals. In that one game, he says I scored 10 goals. He just really instilled that drive to score and the fun of the game.”
While Miller may not be rewarded with candy after every goal in her senior year, her play propelled the Demons to a 9-2-3 record and a fourth seed in the 4A state playoffs.
The three-year varsity player led the Demons with 10 goals in the regular season and was tied for a team-high six assists.
“She's grown into a leader for our team,” Durango girls soccer head coach Melissa Halonen said. “For the last few games, she's played almost every minute in different positions to help fill the void in some areas for us during some of our games. She's worked hard. She continues to be committed to be the best that she can be and to make the players around her the best that they can be. I'm just so proud of her and how she's finishing up her senior season.”
It was a tough start to the season for Miller as she was recovering from a stress fracture in her foot and was acclimating to some new pieces around her.
Gone were star midfielder Mason Rowland and Sarah Somrak from last year’s team. Miller said it was an adjustment to transition from Rowland to her current teammates on offense. But she put in work with players like junior Bella Saren and freshman Lila-Scherer-Sickler.
“Although it was a big loss and she is an exceptional player and person, the team as a whole has really adapted,” Miller said about the loss of Rowland.
After a 1-2-1 start to the season and then two consecutive ties in the middle of the season, Miller said things began to click in the second half of the Demons’ game against Crested Butte on April 25. Durango hasn’t lost since.
Miller has been encouraged by the Demons’ defense during the team’s six-game winning streak. After the 2-1 loss to Montrose on March 29, Miller said the team created a code word to signal when the team needs to calm down, gather themselves and repossess the ball.
The senior forward also credited Halonen for her communication, patience and her willingness to listen to her players’ needs.
“I have had her as a coach ever since seventh grade in club,” Miller said about Halonen. “She has really helped me develop into the player and person I am today. I wouldn't be where I am without her and all my other coaches throughout the years. Melissa is very approachable and values our input as players which has really contributed to our cohesion as a team this season.”
Miller describes herself as a quiet leader on the field, with center back Carter Neiman being a vocal leader during games. Miller prides herself on being able to have good discussions with Halonen on what the team needs. She’s always available for coaches and players to come to.
Through Halonen’s leadership and Miller’s play, Miller has committed to play soccer at Westminster University in Salt Lake City.
Growing up, Miller followed in her older brother Corbin’s footsteps by playing soccer with him and eventually playing club soccer. She said she’s always been pushed by her siblings, including her younger brother Mason, to be the best.
Therefore, Miller always had the dream of playing college soccer. She started taking the game seriously in fifth grade. She joined the Olympic Developmental Program in New Mexico and joined a competitive club team in Albuquerque which took her all over the country and exposed her to college coaches at showcases.
In high school, Miller looked at a lot of colleges in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference like Colorado Mesa, Colorado Christian and Fort Lewis. She wanted to stay close to home in the RMAC and had a chance to visit Westminster in January of 2023.
“I just fell in love with Utah and the surroundings,” Miller said. “The coaches are amazing and super welcoming so that was a plus. Westminster, the school itself, is very small, like 1200 undergraduate students. Growing up in Durango, I'm just used to that. I enjoy the small town so I think a small school will be great. The skiing in Utah is amazing. So I really look forward to that. I'm just excited to have another family and community. That's what I love about soccer. It's just a community.”
Although Miller isn’t sure what her playing time will look like early in her career, she’s looking to go into pre-health and study sports medicine. She’s grown up in the sports world and has seen all the different positions. Miller wants to help future athletes.
Before Miller graduates and heads off to Westminster, Miller has one more goal in mind: A state championship.
“A state championship for sure, I think the whole team could agree on that,” Miller said about her goal for the season. “Since our sophomore year, we got a little teaser of being in the state semifinals. Since then, especially my senior class, we've all just got that end goal. We're working toward that state championship and that's all we want right now.”
